How famous was Booth as an actor before he shot president Lincoln? Looking through Wikipedia, it lists Booth's occupation of an actor during 1850-1860 before listing him also known as the assassin of Lincoln. Could Booth be compared to a modern day actor in terms of famousness before he shot Lincoln?
John's brother, Edwin Booth, was very, very famous, at least as famous as a pre-Hollywood actor could be. Statue in the park famous.
I've heard various accounts of how famous John actually was. Somewhere between "oh hey, it's that guy" and "fairly famous." Either way, he wasn't an unknown.
If you want a modern-day comparison, it might be fair to say Edwin was Alec Baldwin while John was Stephen Baldwin (or maybe Billy).
Now imagine a world where Billy Baldwin assassinates the President.
